Calla de Arcosia
by Magic Rose
Summary: This takes place in the six year gap between chapters 14 and 15 of my fic "The Rarest Pet." Kale handles a planet's rebellion in quite a different way than she used to.
1. Kitten

"Come on, we have to go, now. We can leave the money behind, I don't think it matters right now!"

The man was shouting at his wife, who was shoving some of their things into a purse.

"You'll thank me later! What's the use of escaping if we've got nothing to live on after we do it? Just give me another minute or two, alright?"

"We don't _have_ a minute! He's here NOW! If we don't go the whole goddamned planet will be a smoking crater. Your money won't be worth-"

Outside, alarms and sirens were going off. People were rushing out of houses left and right, some with no bags, some with one or two. There was screaming and shouting wherever one turned, and as the man and his wife rushed out a bullet whizzed past them.

"You leave me anything in there?" asked the shooter.

"Fuck, steal the whole house if you want!" the man shouted, tugging his wife along before she could protest. Inwardly he was shaking his head. The looters were already starting, they were getting into everything. Fine, he thought. If they wanted to lose their lives chasing stolen wealth, then let them do it.

"Dear, I think-"

"It's just a short distance away," he said, "C'mon, I know we don't run much, but we've got to. We'll be fine."

The wife shook her head and started breathing as heavily and as quickly as she could as they ran-and ran.

The shipyard was only a short distance away and both stepped through the gates red-faced and breathing hard.

"C'mon, c'mon," the man said, walking past numerous ships as they took off. Safety regulations be damned-breathing in fumes like that for a few seconds was nothing compared to the terror of what was coming, and everyone who followed in behind them obviously thought the same, as they all walked through one cloud after another.

"Ah, here we go!"

They'd reached their ship, and he was getting checking the fuel cells when a woman approached. "Please, do you have any space?"

"Oh, Davin," said his wife.

Davin looked back over the woman, and then at the three teens who were following her. "I don't really have room for anyone extra, but-"

"Can you at least take them?" she asked.

"Davin-"

"Fine," he said, "The kids can come."

"Thank you." The woman hugged him, each of her children, and then bolted back for the shipyard gate.

The teens went into the ship quickly, and as soon as he could get in and get it started, they were leaving.

"Oh gods, we're going to make it," his wife said, shaking in her seat, looking with wide eyes out the window. Sometimes at the same time, sometimes not, the smoke would billow out from under the ships. They'd lurch upwards slowly, and after a stuttering start rapidly accelerate, leaving a clouded, burning trail that faded into a thousand almost uniform lines. When she looked at the residue of those who were already gone-it was like a forest of slowly dissipating ivory pillars.

"It's like a meteor shower in reverse," one of the teens, a boy, said.

"I know," said one of his sisters, "It'd be pretty if we weren't running for our lives."

"Yeah, yeah," Davin said, "Any of you kids know how to fly things like this?"

"I do," said the youngest. "This is a KT-5, right?"

"Right."

"Mom taught me on this one."

He smiled briefly, but looked up with fear in his eyes when a loud _bang_ sounded off just outside the ship.

"What was that?!"

"Calm down," he said, "Probably just the engine giving a-"

 _Clang_. _WHIIIRrrrr_.

"Th-the ship is..."

The lights faded. They hadn't left the atmosphere yet, he knew that much. Had another ship hit them? Had the engines...? What could it possibly be? He kept this thing humming along, didn't neglect any kind of maintenance...

"How can the damn power be off? We're still in the air!"

"Ow! Get off my foot!"

From outside, there was chuckling.

"W-who's that? What's going on?"

"There's someone at the window!" the youngest girl shouted, pointing.

"That's not possible! People can't just fly up like-"

Before the rest of them could turn to look, there was the sound of scraping metal.

"W-what's going on?"

"Davin, what-how-?"

"Damn it, I don't know! Get your sidea-"

More chuckling. It was like the outside of the ship was being pulled away, layer by layer.

"NO! NO!"

"Oh gods, we're all going to DIE-"

"Well," came the even voice once its owner could see them through the smoke that clouded up. "That certainly may be true, but if you cooperate it will be less painful than if you don't. Your choice."

Davin raised his gun and shot twice-he could see the silhouette of a figure, though no details, but it was enough.

The bullets fell harmlessly, as if they'd bounced off the target.

"The hard way it is. I can never understand why you peons always choose the hard way."

A sudden red beam pierced Davin's shoulder. He screamed as he fell back with blood pouring from the wound, and cringed, fumbling to get his gun back. His wife fired hers, but she got the same retaliation that he did.

There was laughter.

"What say you, my dear? Come, come, I can't have all this fun by myself."

The five looked up as a woman flew gracefully down through the now rapidly-clearing smoke and raised a hand.

She was about five foot even, but floating, and the ki building in her hand had them all struck silent, unable to notice anything else.

They were shaking, and after a moment Davin's wife began to beg. She was the first to go. Davin responded by rushing forward with his gun, but the newcomer sidestepped and snapped his wrist before shooting him with another ki beam.

"Were you hoping to be saved?" she asked, looking to the teens, shaking her head and wagging her finger briefly. "This is what hope brings, children. You should remember that."

As the smoke cleared a few seconds later, shards of warped glass and metal fell around them. She was grinning, feeling such a rush of maddening excitement at the screams emanating from the ground.

"Good girl."


	2. Liar

It was like looking down into the rest of her life for Kale. The bottom of the cliff fell away into a few sharp spires of rocks and crashing waves, and beyond that, the approaching tide. Everything was misty, and she really wondered why he'd even chosen this place for a vacation. Then she remembered that he'd been on some kind of rainy-weather kick-perhaps he was overheated?-and shook it off.

"A long way down, wouldn't you say?" Frieza's arms were around her waist, and his head on her shoulder.

"Yes, it certainly is."

"There are better places to have a swim, you know."

"I didn't have any intention of trying in this weather."

She shivered as the wind blew by.

"Perhaps we should go back inside. You can hardly keep me warm if you catch cold."

Kale turned and walked back inside with him, saying nothing when he took her hand. He'd been doing it more and more frequently, and she still couldn't figure out why.

* * *

"I'm hoping we can settle this amiably, gentlemen," Kale said, smiling vaguely as she took a seat.

"And who," the flustered-looking king asked, "Are you?"

One of the others with him whispered in his ear and he went red; his brow contracting angrily mouth contorting into a snarl. "I don't care who you are. If Lord Frieza wants to negotiate, he'll have to come down here himself."

"If he comes down here," she replied, "There won't be anything left."

A couple of the guards behind the king and the one at his side took out their spears-the tips, she could tell, were already glittering. What an odd way for them to channel their ki, she thought.

"And if you keep this sort of behavior up, I'm afraid my very large friend back here will have to get angry."

From behind her there was a whispered, "That's you" and an "oh."

Recoome stepped up just behind her, and grinned down at what he was hoping would be his opponents.

"As I was saying," she added. "You are a big fish in a very small pond, my dear King, and Lord Frieza has no desire to be bothered with someone like you. Your rebellion is nothing more than the mewling of an infant to him."

"You talk mighty big for a whore," the king growled.

Kale didn't even bother looking up from the datapad she'd been perusing. "Recoome? Kiddy smash."

The red-head stepped around the table faster than the guards could move, and brought his boot up rapidly, squarely between the King's legs. The latter then collapsed.

"That was a warning," she added in a syrupy sweet tone, "Consider yourself lucky that losing the ability to have heirs is the worst I've done to you."

"Do you expect us to let you get away with that?" said one guard while the rest bent down to check on the King.

"I expect you to do as I say. I'm not trying to hurt you all, you know. Far from it. I am trying to save your miserable necks."

"By maiming the King?!"

"I reiterate. It was a warning. Now are you going to make this easy on yourself, or must I inform Lord Frieza of your inability to follow simple instructions? Would you really rather die than live?"

"Better to die on our feet than live on our knees like you," spat the King.

"Kill them," Kale said in a flat tone automatically, "Kill them all."

* * *

As they were heading back a day later, she immediately logged into the computer to give a full report.

"Ah, good to see you again so soon, my dear. How did it go?"

"Well enough."

"They were uncooperative, then?"

"Very much so. I did try to negotiate, you know, but they refused to see reason. The planet is yours."

"Excellent." He smirked, "You enjoyed that, didn't you? No, I don't even need to hear you; of course you enjoyed it. How could my little pet do anything less?"

She went on and as she finished the report, he seemed to nod.

"I expected it to go this way...and it looks as though you all did a very good job. But...hurry back, won't you?" He smirked, tracing his lower lip.

"Not going to send me back to the Ivory Palace just yet?"

"Now why would I do that? I need to get this report in person as well, after all."

* * *

"Hey, hey, how'd it go?" Jeice asked when she walked back into the common area of the ship, "Was Lord Frieza happy with the results?"

"Very much so. It seems he knew what would happen."

"That so?" Guldo asked, "Eh, well, he probably just wanted to catch them in a weak moment. Send a signal to some of the other planets in the system or something."

"I'm sure Lord Frieza had a reason, one way or another. Men, why don't you all head off to bed. We're a day's trip to the station and it'll pass the time a bit more constructively. Alright?"

"But, Captain..."

"Or do I have to enact a temporary ban once we DO get back?"

"Fine."

The other four grumbled, but headed off to their respective (tiny) rooms.

Kale looked after them, and then back to Ginyu with a slight smile. "They haven't changed a bit, have they?"

"I don't think they ever will," He laughed, "You know them. But what about you? You've made quite a few strides recently."

"Oh, certainly. I may have had to give up a little pride, but...I could do worse." At that she shrugged, and headed off to the room she'd been given.

Ginyu shook his head. It looked like Frieza had finally done it...at least she'd gotten some of the fire back in her; at least she could smile again. It was nice to see both of those things.

But it still hurt.


End file.
